old wives' tales

noun

Definition of old wives' talesnext
plural of old wives' tale
as in errors
a false idea or belief the belief that going outside with wet hair will cause you to catch cold is just an old wives' tale

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for old wives' tales
  1. errors
  2. myths
  3. delusions
  4. illusions
Noun
  • Most recently, the Department of Homeland Security Cyber Safety Review Board cited a ‘cascade’ of errors by Microsoft, allowing Chinese hackers to breach federal email systems.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Macy’s did not identify the individual responsible for the errors.
    David Moin, WWD, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of errors
Noun
  • Through social media and her practice, German is dismantling beauty myths and empowering her community with knowledge.
    Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 9 Dec. 2024
  • Dispelling myths about social determinants of health is important for better addressing the overall well-being of employees and employers.
    Sean Fogarty, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Definition of myths
Noun
  • Corcoran's attorneys have pointed to his delusions that Indiana Department of Correction officers are torturing him using an ultrasound machine.
    Kristine Phillips, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Dec. 2024
  • Musicals are, in many cases, delusions, born in times of violence and annihilation.
    Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2024
Definition of delusions
Noun
  • But Americans must guard carefully against falling prey to our own illusions and our own folly.
    Shane Croucher, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
  • Usually this is because states fall prey to illusions about national security.
    Shane Croucher, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024
Definition of illusions
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near old wives' tales

old wives' tale

old wives' tales

old-world

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Old wives' tales.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/old%20wives%27%20tales. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...